By John Bisnar on March 8, 2012 -
A new federal report released this week by the Department of Health and Human Services states that California’s nursing home inspectors fall short when it comes to following up on their own investigative findings. According to an article by California Watch, the federal department, which oversees Medicare and Medicaid, identified shortcomings by the California Department of Public Health, which inspects the state’s 1,150 nursing homes.
The report talks about serious cases of nursing home neglect, on which state officials failed to follow up. One example was a case where inspectors discovered that maggots were coming out of a resident’s ear. Federal officials say that in such cases, federal overseers are limited in their ability to take action. The power to do that rests in the hands of the state department, which federal officials say, does a poor job with enforcement.
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By John Bisnar on February 23, 2012 -
Downey Care Center, Fountain View Subacute and Nursing Center, and Motion Picture & Television Hospital have all been fined for fatal incidents that resulted from nursing home neglect. According to an Associated Press news report, the nursing home fines total $235,000 and the facilities have 10 days to contest their fines. Officials say all three facilities were directly responsible for incidents that occurred on their premises.
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By John Bisnar on February 3, 2012 -
The California Department of Public Health has slapped a $100,000 fine on a care facility in Daly City for nursing home neglect. According to a news report in The Associated Press, Seton Medical Center is facing the most severe penalty allowed under state law in connection with the death of an 81-year-old woman. Officials say, a nurse at the facility left the cap on a breathing tube that was inserted into the woman’s trachea. The woman suffocated and died. State officials said the nursing home received the maximum penalty because it did not have a policy in place for properly inserting the device, which is known as a “T-piece.”
I offer my deepest sympathies to the family members of this elderly patient who died as a result of negligence. They will be in my thoughts and prayers.
Serious Deficiencies in Nursing Homes
More than 1.5 million people live in nursing homes nationwide. That number has only been increasing and is expected to go up in the coming years. According to the Government Accountability Office, about one-fifth of nursing homes in the nation were cited for serious deficiencies – those that jeopardized the life of the patient – in 2008. The GAO report cited poor quality of care such as worsening pressure sores or untreated weight loss in a high number of nursing homes. These deficiencies, the report stated, puts nursing home residents in “immediate jeopardy,” which means that they are at risk of death or serious injury.
Failure to Meet Standards
Nursing homes are required to meet federal standards as a condition of participating in Medicare and Medicaid, which cover more than two-thirds of their residents at a cost of more than $75 billion a year. In this particular case, the nursing home in Daly City seems to have committed a fatal error because they did not have a policy in place when it came to inserting a T-piece.
A number of incidents involving nursing home neglect or nursing home abuse occur due to understaffing in nursing homes. When care facilities hire fewer staff and keep untrained or unqualified personnel on staff, because they are cheaper, and overwork them, it creates an environment that is ripe for abuse and neglect. Such situations stem from nursing homes putting profits ahead of the people they are supposed to serve.
Compensation for Victims’ Families
A family that has lost a loved one as a result of nursing home neglect can file a wrongful death claim against the at-fault facility. Victims’ families in such cases would be well advised to contact an experienced California personal injury lawyer, who has experience successfully handling similar cases and holding nursing homes accountable for their wrongdoing. The best nursing home abuse law firms always offer a free consultation and comprehensive case evaluation to victims or their families.
By John Bisnar on December 20, 2011 -
Two Orange County nursing homes are facing fines over allegations of nursing home neglect in connection with the deaths of two patients. According to a news report in The Orange County Register, Newport Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Newport Beach was fined $100,000 after a patient fell while left unattended to use the bathroom. Emeritus Nursing Home in Yorba Linda was fined $90,000 after an unsupervised patient choked on a piece of meat. In both cases, the California Department of Public Health officials said, the patients received “inadequate care.” Both facilities received the most serious citations allowed under state law.
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By John Bisnar on September 2, 2011 -
A lawsuit alleging nursing home abuse at a Seal Beach care facility claims that staff drugged a resident by force in an attempt to take control over her retirement funds. According to a news report in The Orange County Register, 68-year-old Marsha “Aleah” Davis, a retired preschool teacher, is saying that nursing home staff at Country Villa medicated her forcibly with psychotropic drugs in order to chemically restrain her. State investigators who visited Country Villa in February did find that Davis had been improperly medicated. State officials say they will not fine or cite the nursing home because administrators have submitted a corrective plan.
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By John Bisnar on July 16, 2011 -
The State (WV) Journal reported on July 6, “The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals issued orders on three separate cases stating that juries, rather than arbitrators, should decide nursing home health care disputes, according to a June 29 ruling. “The cases asserted negligence claims against nursing homes and involved signed agreements containing arbitration clauses. Defendants in the cases asserted the Federal Arbitration Act preempted the state’s Nursing Home Act which asserts that, “any written waiver by a nursing home resident of his or her right to commence a lawsuit for injuries sustained in a nursing home shall be null and void as contrary to public policy.”
The court ruled the Federal Arbitration Act, “did not apply to these clauses in pre-injury contracts where personal injury occurred after the signing of the contract.” West Virginia Association for Justice President Paul T. Farrell Jr. praised the court for upholding, “the right to a jury trial.” These cases will be decided by juries, not arbitrators. Read the rest »
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